Offshore wind plan 2.0 faces global headwinds

India has no offshore wind capacity but is on track to commission record 6 Gw of onshore wind capacity in FY26: Joshi

- S DINAKAR

Union Minister for New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) Pralhad Joshi — in his latest post on Linkedin — gave a rousing call to make “wind power the cornerstone of India’s clean energy future.” Joshi had inaugurated the 7th edition of Windergy in Chennai on October 30.

Wind is still a bystander in India’s renewable journey, while offshore wind, a distant cousin, is still out of sight.

‘That may be about to change. India is taking a second stab at launching a tender for offshore wind-powered electricity.

This comes even as the developed, western world retreats from an expensive clean energy technology on concerns over viability and a hostile US administration.

Offshore wind is dominated by a few large western developers, who are exiting global projects to focus exclusively on Europe, slashing the pool of bidders for the Indian auction.

This is after Denmark's Orsted, the world’s biggest offshore wind developer, slipped into near bankruptcy this year, company data shows.

The retreat of those like Orsted from developing markets crimps New Delhi’s ability to make a success of an upcoming auction round for offshore wind unless fiscal terms are very inviting and capacities are huge, a senior official from MNRE told Business Standard on the sidelines of Windergy.

India will launch a new tender in early 2026, seeking bids from global and local developers to install as much as 1 gigawatt (Gw) of offshore wind capacity in the open seas, off the coast of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, Joshi said in Chennai.

The government will pitch in with ₹7,500 crore in viability gap funding (VGF) to support bidders.